A Guide To Betting On NFL American Football

Published on January 31, 2017 by Darren @ Betting Gods

American Football is a huge sport, and the NFL is being watched by more and more people all over the world. It’s a unique sport that’s full of stops and starts and revolves around the execution of different tactics.

Consequently, each game will throw up hundreds of stats about teams, players, and the league itself. Add to that the many different markets and American Football becomes a very good sport to bet on. This guide will help you by taking you through some of the key betting markets and things to consider when betting on an NFL match.

Best NFL Markets

To start things off, we’ll take a look at some of the key NFL markets and provide a bit of advice to get the most out of your bet:

Match Points Spread/Handicap Betting

One of the best NFL markets to bet on is the match winner by way of a handicap. This is a way of evening up the odds, even when a far superior team plays a weaker one. You can use positive or negative handicaps to bet on the match result. For example, if you want to bet on the clear favourites and want better value than a straight match result bet, you can give them a negative handicap to boost the odds.

With NFL betting, there is a strategy to follow when using handicaps. There are certain numbers that are considered ‘big numbers.’ You see, teams usually score points from either a field goal (3 points) or touchdown (7 points) meaning games are normally won by these margins. In fact, 1/7 NFL matches are won by three points throughout a season. This means you can get much better value by using a -3 handicap when betting on the clear favourites.

Total Points Spread/ Over & Under

Another popular market is betting on how many points a match will produce. To do this, you bet on whether or not a game will have over/under a certain figure. For example, will a certain match finish with over/ under 45 points scored? By following past statistics on the teams involved, and taking into account their form, you can usually figure out how many points to expect in a game. Plus, there are ‘big numbers’ involved in this betting market too. In fact, there are ten numbers that come up more often than any other regarding the total points in a match (30, 33, 37, 38, 41, 44, 45, 47, 48, 51).

Consider these numbers while also thinking about average points per game for each side, and you will be able to make a much safer bet with great value.

The Money Line

Perhaps the most common market, it refers to the end result of a match. You bet on who will win or if the game is a draw. Generally speaking, you will never get much success when betting on a draw. Very few NFL games end this way, you’re much better off looking at the form of each team and the form of key players in each team to pick a winner.

Touchdown Scorer

Betting on the touchdown scorer is a fun market, but it will often yield poor results. Especially if you try and predict the first touchdown scorer. The odds are usually very generous, largely down to the fact that it’s hard to correctly predict who will score first.

However, study the quarterbacks for each team and see who they’re most likely to throw to the majority of the time. Also, look at which players are consistently scoring touchdowns almost every match. Then, you can dip into the anytime touchdown scorer market, which is a lot safer and easier to predict, though the odds aren’t as good.

Things That Impact NFL Matches

There are many things that can impact an NFL match, most notably the weather and injuries. Different weather conditions will effect a match, particularly if there’s a lot of wind. In a game that involves throwing a ball long distances through the air, a heavy wind can blow passes of course and change the look of a match.

Likewise, injuries to key players can quickly put a favourite team in a tricky position and make them less likely to win.

At the end of the day, NFL betting is a great way to win some money and is far more reliable that Premier League football betting. It’s a good idea to visit sites like the official NFL website for all the in-depth stats and news on every team in the league. Brush up on your knowledge, bet in the right markets, and you will go far.

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